The plans for Oratia Village were presented last night with Isthmus Group and the Council. The plans are displayed in the Settlers Hall window for 2 weeks only! Get down there and check them out. From tomorrow, their will be A3 takeaway plans and a feedback form. Or there is a PDF at the bottom of this post The next consultation will be a PUBLIC OPEN DAY on Sat 17 August 10.30-12.30: at Settlers Hall with staff on-site to answer questions and gather feedback.
They incorporate the dreams of Oratia as outlined in our Local Area Plan and the theming workshop. Spoiler alert: the ideas include beautiful roadside planting with wild flowers, hedges and trees , places to sit, a town square, artistic bridges to mark the entrance to the area, signs reminiscent of fruit signs as entrance signs to Oratia, safe pedestrian crossing, somewhere for the Oratia Air Scouts to have a storage space of their own, and a little town square with a kiosk, a cafe kiosk in the Settlers Hall, a walkway through to the domain which could be planted with heritage fruit trees and an attractive flat carpark at the back that could be used for events like a market, an ampitheatre shaped domain that could be used for outdoor events like concerts or movies, and a pedestrian crossing between the school and the village halls.
There were lots of really great ideas about how we can define our village not as a through street to somewhere else but as an awesome little community And use our public spaces to create a vibrant place to be.
Some practical questions were raised in the meeting about how the plans will work and the future of our fruit growing industries.
Isthmus group are one of Auckland’s premier landscape architecture firms. Their work is award winning and they have a strong understanding of town planning and special places. A visit to their award winning work in Barry Curtis Park, and Hobsonville Point is a great day out and filled with ideas.
We will post a feedback form here shortly. But have a look at the plans in the Settlers Hall windows and mull them over. This is a special opportunity and the council says money for town development is hotly contested. Let them know we are excited and we would like some investment and support for Oratia. IGL_3214 Oratia Final Masterplan_draft_020813 (1) (2)